After sailing my new Phantom 295L a couple of times I am pleased with my purchase except for one thing. I cannot get the dagger board down!! I can get the tip through the rubber gasket using my heel without much of a problem, but am unable to move it further when sailing. Have tried silicone spray, but it didn't improve the situation. Any suggestions??

Thanks
Russell

joe_windsurfer

18th January 2014 04:03 PM

unfortunately i have read a few posts on Phantoms and dropping the dagger-board :(
people are saying silicone, but that can wear out ...
there are other lubricants that are more "water friendly" and last a little longer
i use SAILKOTE on sail cambers and dagger-boards IF necessary
i have Fanatic Ultra Cat and Mistral Equipe I
they do NOT seem to have these issues - they have others ...
one thing i can suggest - is testing on land
make sure the centre board is seated properly and can be dropped
add sailkote if necessary and try again
if more is required - SB team needs to chime in and maybe purchase place needs to verify if all is well ??
wish you lots of luck with this board - it is on my short liste
so, keep us informed please
ideally would want 377, but cannot afford it :(
am sure this can be worked out - or just needs a "breaking in period" !!
lotsa luck and TOW/time on water !!!

rww

18th January 2014 07:44 PM

Thanks Joe

Have tested on land. Board can be dropped, but there is too much friction (even with silicon spray) to do so with the "handle" until it is quite a long way out. Only way I can get it down is by pulling on the tip until it is far enough out to use handle. Am hoping it will loosen up, but it's not looking promising at this stage.

Can any team members suggest what the problem might be?

Roger

18th January 2014 08:36 PM

rww,
Try a bar of soap (yes, bath tub soap) rubbed on the centerboard and the lips of the gasket
as well as the sides/flanks of the centerboard where the pivot point is.
Not sure which Starboard design your board has, so maybe have a look in the cassette
and see it the side shims are too tight.
Silicone attracts sand, sand increases the friction between the centerboard components.
Do not use silicones!
Sailkote works pretty good on masts and camber inducers, but it also attracts and holds
sand particles.
Soap is the absolute best lubricant for windsurfing equipment!
Roger
If all else fails, maybe find a way to thin out the lips of the gasket at the rear of the
CB slot.
For sure open them up and run a file along the sharp edge on the top side (up in the CB
slot/well).
The gasket will seal just as well, but a sharp edge on the upper longitudinal corner of the
gasket will for sure hang up on the center board when fully retracted.
Roger

rww

19th January 2014 12:09 AM

Thanks Roger

Have tried soap, but it didn't help much either. Removing the sharp edge makes sense, but I'm reluctant to do that and risk ruining the seal, until I've tried absolutely everything else. Don't think that I should have to resort to that on a new board either!! Have been "working" the board up and down on land and it seems slightly freer, so am going to try again on the water and see if it's any better.

Russell

Roger

19th January 2014 12:47 AM

Russell,
Also make sure that the absolute tip of the CB has some clearance on the rear of the
gasket. If the longitudinal "cut" does not extend far enough past the tip of the CB then
you will have issues getting the CB started down, but since you can step on it and push it through, that may not be part of the problem.
You need to either take the CB cassette out of the board, or have your dealer do it and
make sure all the side plates that support the CB and smooth and fair.
Also check that the pivots are clean and aligned with each other. The pivot bearings
should be a close rotational fit on the pin (s) in the CB.
Hope this helps,
Roger

rww

19th January 2014 01:16 AM

Thanks again Roger

The clearance on the tip is tight, but it does just get through. I do have an issue on one side with the alignment of the holes to attach the cover plate that clamps the side plate in place and did think that this may be causing a problem. It does cause some misalignment of the side plate, but it doesn't seem to be binding. Anyway, as well as working the board up and down, I have removed everything and reassembled with everything aligned as best I can, and am going to try again on the water this afternoon if I get some wind. It does seem a bit freer on land. Here's hoping!

Russell

rww

19th January 2014 06:10 AM

After "working" the board up and down many times on land and realigning the board pivots and side plate assembly so that both plates seat squarer and further into the recess in the side of the case, I've managed to get the board down and up again on the water relatively easily. Only tried once, but hopefully problem is resolved.